Musings on Markings
by ladylemonade4ever
Summary: After a scary encounter with a monster, Cooro comes to the rescue and leaves Nana with something to think about... C/N


_A/N and disclaimer: I envisioned this oneshot after I read the story arc where the gang visits a hot spring that's haunted by a "monster" (who's actually a bison +Anima...) I'm not sure how I feel about the flow of the story, it feels awkward and stilted to me but I wasn't sure how to change it. I always felt that there was as much subtle Nana/Cooro as there was Nana/Husky in the series and I like their pairing better obviously. There aren't enough good fanfics with Nana/Cooro in my opinion on this site._

_Aaaannnndddd I do not own the rights to +Anima, I'm pretty sure if I did I wouldn't be writing fanfiction about it..._

Musings on Markings

"_K-kyaaaaaaaa_!" Nana screamed scrambling out of the water and grappling for her towel as the shadowy figure on the other side of the hot spring became more visible in the departing steam. The rocks were slick with condensation, and she stumbled as she clutched the towel around herself with trembling hands, terrified of the hairy beast behind her. What if she was eaten before she made it to the door, where her friends were presumably unaware of the monster? She felt some of her fear abate as Cooro's voice reached her unconsciously transformed bat ears, he wasn't far from the door…

"Nana! Nana, are you alright? I heard you scream!" Cooro ran down the hall, his ebony wings bursting from his shoulder blades. Just as he skidded to a halt in front of the ladies' entrance to the hot springs, the door banged open and Nana collided into him, her flailing limbs becoming tangled with his as they rolled across the floor.

"N-nana?" Cooro gasped as the bat +Anima threw her arms around him, sobbing on his shoulder. He hesitantly patted her damp hair, utterly confused and caught off guard by the state of his friend, who was dripping wet and only clothed in a soaked towel. Nana seemed to come to this realization herself, and hastily released him from her grip, cheeks no longer pink from the heat of the spring. As Cooro stared at her with an unreadable expression, she managed to choke out the words between shuddering breaths.

"There-there was s-something in the water!" she gasped, and as her once again urgent fear translated itself to Cooro, he immediately got up and flew through the door that led into the spring. Nana held her breath in anticipation as she shivered against the opposite wall, wishing that Cooro had stayed outside with her instead of leaving her alone to investigate. What if something happened to him? She strained her bat-like ears for any sounds of distress on the other side of the door, heart pounding. A few moments later and Cooro appeared in the doorway arms crossed, his +Anima hidden once more. She started to ask if he had seen anything, only to have him cut her off with a sharp nod.

She felt flustered as he studied her with an intensity that she was unaccustomed to having trained on her. She fidgeted under his gaze, aware that he could obviously see the flush that covered the expanse of her indecently exposed skin. She self consciously raised her hand to twirl a damp curl on her cheek, when she remembered her bat ears. Nana quickly willed them away, suddenly more embarrassed that Cooro could see them. The shame of her +Anima replaced the odd, foreign, _adult_ emotions that had filled her when she assumed Cooro was staring at her almost nakedness. Self-scorn penetrated her thoughts as she remembered the major quirk of the apple-addicted boy, and that was his almost repulsive love for everything +Anima. He wasn't staring at _her_, he was staring at her +Anima.

She stood up abruptly causing Cooro to start, towel clenched firmly in hand as she turned on her heel and marched off, tears stinging the corners of her eyes as she felt a hollow disappointment settle over her heart.

"Nana, wait!" Cooro's voice was colored with that familiar confusion. She hesitated in her step and suddenly a rough hand enclosed on her bare shoulder, effectively stopping her in her tracks. She stiffened as his fingers brushed the damp curls off her neck and then slowly traced the bumps of her spine down to her +Anima marking spread across her back, his hand splayed against it. Her mind went blank as she leaned into his touch, eyes closing as a shiver involuntarily racking her.

"What's wrong?" Cooro asked softly, and Nana took a shallow breath before letting out in a tumble of words, _"I'm tired of everyone staring at my ugly +Anima!" _She tried to shrug off his hand off of her shoulder blades, a lump forming in her throat and angry tears forming in her eyes.

Cooro's breath on her neck raised goose bumps as he whispered almost reverently, "You're beautiful Nana." She whirled around and stepped back as the close proximity overwhelmed her. His dark round eyes that were usually shimmering with some light hearted emotion were filled with a seriousness she'd never thought capable of Cooro.

An automatic response weighed on her tongue, but he cut her off by placing both of his hands on her shoulders, pinning her.

"Nana, everything about you is beautiful, even your +Anima!" he declared passionately and she gaped at him, and a longing wistfulness to see herself the way Cooro saw her clenched her heart in a painful way. She wanted to kiss him… kiss him? Nana's mind went blank with the realization, only to fill back up with panic to find a way to tamp down on those dangerous feelings, this was Cooro here after all…

A thought echoed in her head, liking Husky would be so much _safer_, Husky who obviously didn't like girls and would never return her feelings…

"Oh, Cooro-" Nana started, settling an expression of bemused exasperation on her face, intending to downplay his earnest display into another one of the many silly Cooro moments that was a constant on their journeys. His expression darkened as he registered what she was about to do when a clambering of footsteps at the other end of the hall jolted them from their moment. Nana broke away, seizing the opportunity that Husky, Senri, and Rose provided by their presence. She ran past them, a blur of brown, cream, and pink; leaving Cooro staring after her with a dark expression. As Husky turned to him with an eyebrow raised and Rose in her concern took off after Nana, Cooro assumed his oblivious demeanor everyone was well accustomed to.

Eventually Nana would have to accept that her +Anima was a part of her, a beautiful part of her, and that he wasn't going to let her push it aside as something to be ashamed of; because every time she did that she was pushing aside Husky, Senri, Rose, and of course, him. He wouldn't let her do that, couldn't bear it.

_Loved it? Hated it? Don't be shy, leave a review!_


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